Samsung Galaxy S III Estimated to Top iPhone 4S in 3Q 2012 Worldwide Shipments

TBH, I'm not really bothered about which phone did or didn't outsell the one I bought. It seems that it is only a badge of honour on internet forums, If i mentioned that my phone sold more than another where I work I would get laughed out of the place.

Reminds me of "my dads bigger than your dad" when I was at school.

ChazUK said:

Comparing it to the touchpad, when is the $99* Samsung Galaxy S III firesale taking place?

Give those of us that have NO CLUE a clue please.

*$99 unsubsidised.

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You might want to read this to get a CLUE

For example, in December 2010, the first quarter Samsung’s tablet launched, it announced it had sold 1 million units worldwide. According to court documents AllThingsD and CNET published yesterday, Samsung sold 262,000 in the U.S. Back in December 2010, it was reported that 100,000 Tabs were sold in Samsung’s home market in South Korea. But even at the time we wondered where the rest of the 900,000 sales were going. If 262,000 were in the U.S., that leaves more than 600,000 sales unaccounted for. And if they weren’t selling in the U.S., the world’s largest tablet market, well, where did they go?

The discrepancy in numbers occurs again in the second quarter of 2012. A research report from IDC last week showed Samsung sold 2.3 million Galaxy Tabs worldwide. The court documents show that in the U.S., between April and June, Samsung sold 37,000 units. (Yes, there was an injunction issued on sales of the Tab 10.1, but it wasn’t until the very end of the quarter.)

Is it possible that a tablet that’s not selling well in the U.S. is thriving and selling millions outside the country? Sure. But the more likely explanation boils down to the problem with reporting numbers of products shipped versus sold. It comes up over and over again. Does selling to a retailer count as “sold” if the product sits on a shelf in a store instead of in the hands of a customer?

ChazUK said:

Comparing it to the touchpad, when is the $99* Samsung Galaxy S III firesale taking place?

Give those of us that have NO CLUE a clue please.

*$99 unsubsidised.

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agreed.

Not sure what in the flying **** that had anything to do with this story.


the HP Touchpad firesale was epic.


Traded one for a macbook when they were super popular lol.

Anyone used a Galaxy S III?

Too big and runs too hot.

Lordskelic said:

Saying this on these forums is really dangerous...but I honestly think the Galaxy S III is a really good phone, but I'm not saying I like Samsung. I hate their tactics and advertisements.

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There's nothing wrong with expressing an honest opinion.

I happen to enjoy both iOS & Android. While I've owned many Androids since the OS was first released, I'd be remiss if I didn't give credit to Samsung.

Going back to the days of a Blackjack & looking forward, Samsung has come a long ways. I've owned each & every one of the Galaxy Series. They've been quite good, and each generation was a major upgrade over the previous model. An accomplishment not all manufacturers have pulled off.

My Samsung Smart TV, and other products like my Series 9 laptop & Chromebook have also been excellent. Like the saying goes "don't knock it till you've tried it. Some claim they've had bad experiences but never get specific. That's often the sign of a story teller just randomly bashing, to justify their preference for another brand.

My iPhone 4S has been the best iPhone for me, to date. My iPhone 5 sits on the shelf, it's uninteresting & too buggy. I'm maintaining a positive outlook that Apple will make the next iPhone reflect their very best efforts. I've been an Apple user for too long to believe the iP5 is anything else but a placeholder.

agonzalezojeda said:

Has anyone used a Galaxy device? They dont compare in quality or function. I had Android before, and I provide support for some staff own those devices, and the issue lies in both the hardware and the usability of the software. That ecosystem is just not as functional or as easy to approach as it should be. They may be cheaper to purchase, and to manufacture, but they are just not that great of a device or mobile OS.

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I have both the S3(personal) and iPhone5(work), what I always tell people is that it really comes down to the user - get whichever phone you like best. In general, I tell them the iPhone is great if you don't wanna "tinker" with the settings and want it to work straight outta the box, and the Android is great if you like combustibility.
There's no "right" answer here, the Galaxy is not broken like you suggest imo

BaldiMac said:

Maybe you don't understand how it works. When a new phone is released, manufacturers build up a channel inventory that consists of phones that have been shipped but not sold. Apple generally maintains an iPhone inventory of 4-8 weeks.

In the last quarter, Samsung increased the channel inventory of S3's as they ramped up their manufacturing. This means that they sold less than they shipped. Apple, on the other hand, was decreasing their channel inventory of the iPhone 4S in preparation for the launch of the iPhone 5. That means they sold more iPhone 4S's than they shipped.

So, the claim that the S3 was the best selling smartphone based on these shipping estimates is unsupported at best.

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FYI i walked into a Future Shop in downtown Vancouver and they had a shelf full of iPhone 4S' and 5's....

I know this is anecdotal but I never see Samsung smartphones in the wild. I see iPhones constantly and know loads of people who own iPhones. I know people who have Android phones but can't think of one person who owns a Samsung Galaxy.

You'd think with these kinds of sales, I'd encounter owners/users a little more often. Am I living in some kind of bubble?

The only thing that really counts is who's making the most profit from their phones. That bit information is suspiciously absent from the article, as usual.

canucksfan88 said:

FYI i walked into a Future Shop in downtown Vancouver and they had a shelf full of iPhone 4S' and 5's....

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Good for you! What does that have to do with what I said?

I wouldn't care if they sold 10x as many as apple. Or if apple sold 10x as many as samsung. What difference does it make?

I'm an Android user myself. But sales number don't really matter when determining the better phone.

I do like how popular Android is becoming, just hope it continues to be a great OS....still waiting on VZWs Note 2

Whatever spurs competition and keeps pushing Apple and everyone else to do better. We all win.

daveathall said:

TBH, I'm not really bothered about which phone did or didn't outsell the one I bought. It seems that it is only a badge of honour on internet forums, If i mentioned that my phone sold more than another where I work I would get laughed out of the place.

Reminds me of "my dads bigger than your dad" when I was at school.

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Very true, but the only reason it does sorta matter is bc if the phone does poorly, the support and such for the phone will die off...plus the aftermarket selling price will go down if you do that sort of thing (i just sold my old iPhone 4 for $300 on ebay lol)

Ryth said:

Do you know of the HP Touchpad? Might want to look that one up and how many they 'shipped' vs 'sold'

You obviously have NO CLUE on how retail works or you wouldn't have made that ridiculous statement.

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you dont know much about tech comparing the touchpad with the succesfull s3

Ryth said:

Is it possible that a tablet that’s not selling well in the U.S. is thriving and selling millions outside the country? Sure. But the more likely explanation boils down to the problem with reporting numbers of products shipped versus sold. It comes up over and over again. Does selling to a retailer count as “sold” if the product sits on a shelf in a store instead of in the hands of a customer?[/I]

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So Galaxy S III isn't selling because the HP touchpad didn't sell because the GalaxyTab didn't sell well.
Only on MacRumors would we see such ******* crazy reasoning.

I salute you (whilst awaiting my Galaxy S III firesale). I'ts coming soon right?

EDIT: How long until ET on the Atari 2600 is bought into this argument?

agonzalezojeda said:

Has anyone used a Galaxy device? They dont compare in quality or function. I had Android before, and I provide support for some staff own those devices, and the issue lies in both the hardware and the usability of the software. That ecosystem is just not as functional or as easy to approach as it should be. They may be cheaper to purchase, and to manufacture, but they are just not that great of a device or mobile OS.

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Yeah I have the Nexus and would buy the next iteration/version when it comes out. I haven't had any problems with it, 4G service since beginning of this year, awesome screen.

I think its so ignorant when people say their ecosystem is crappy. Any software I use on my iPad I can find something similar or equivalent on the Nexus. You probably have never used NFC its pretty awesome feature you dont get on iOS.

nick_elt said:

you dont know much about tech comparing the touchpad with the succesfull s3

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that's what I was trying to say...but i think he just hates me or something so I don't think it's going to matter in the end...sigh, why can't we all just get along

Lordskelic said:

Saying this on these forums is really dangerous...but I honestly think the Galaxy S III is a really good phone, but I'm not saying I like Samsung. I hate their tactics and advertisements.

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The Galaxy S III is a wonderful phone.

These numbers are stupid. 3rd Quarter of 2012 is July August and September? The iPhone 5 shipped on September 21st, and sales of the 4S declined for some time before that (probably all of Q3) because people knew the iPhone 5 was coming out soon.

Also:

Nathan20 said:

SHIPMENTS not sales...

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So we do not know when a company decides to "ship". It is when it sells, or just to have them on shelves.

Either way, there is always a better phone coming out soon. Sometimes it's Apple's, sometimes another company's phone. They do not coordinate the releases of their phones, so you can never really fairly judge who is selling better at any one time, the newer phone is going to sell better until it becomes the older phone.

frayne182 said:

If the S3 was a 4'' phone and not a huge brick I would of been all over it. I know they are making a smaller one, but with also watered down features so I don't count that one


I want the S3 as it stands in a 4'' form factor. I don't like big phones. I would of gotten the S3 over the iPhone 5 for sure.

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Get a Nexus phone. They're better anyways.

daveathall said:

TBH, I'm not really bothered about which phone did or didn't outsell the one I bought. It seems that it is only a badge of honour on internet forums, If i mentioned that my phone sold more than another where I work I would get laughed out of the place.

Reminds me of "my dads bigger than your dad" when I was at school.

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Welcome to the modern day macrumors. It's really too bad, but that's mostly what the forum is these days, from both camps.

Samsung's newest phone is selling more than Apple's old phone? INCREDIBLE NEWS!!

Demand vs Supply...How to get iPhone 5??

I've been trying to get an iPhone 5 from my Verizon store since it was released. They never have them. Yesterday they said they could order one and have it here in 2 weeks.

You can buy a Galaxy S3 in that store today.

Why will the S3 surpass iPhone? How could it not if you can't buy one at a whim? Many people who are not Apple Addicts will not wait for availability.

Get it together Foxconn (and Apple). Release the phone when you have it to sell. Otherwise it's vaporware.

chagla said:

right because retailers seem to love stockpiling units of unsold S3 on their shelves.

it's probably a strange fetish.

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Right, because the phones only exist on shelves and in factories, there is no in between.

Sensation said:

Impressive, Apple are just being crushed now which is why they have to sue everyone

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It is sad that a company can steal, copy, practically counterfeit another's supposedly patented, protected ideas.

That the court system is so slow to respond and consumers have such poor memory that after a few years delay folks think the way Apple did it is the only way it could have been done.

Sad that the court systems are ineffective at stopping such a mimicking company.

Sad that such an unethical company is so effective at manipulating public opinion to make itself look like the victim while stealing every idea Apple has.

Sad that folks don't notice the massive advertising campaign waged and its effectiveness at changing public opinion. Many Apple "news" articles bracketed with Galaxy S3 ads.

Sad that particularly folks in the US are so encouraging of a company who's claim to fame is dirty cheap development and manufacturing. Lets all root for the overseas low wage company that copies Apple's designs. That will somehow be good for everyone long term. Apple iPhone 5 sales alone were expected to materially affect US GDP. The US technology leadership will wane. NASDAQ was being held up by Apple.

I think all the anti-Apple talk is being effective and will curtail demand for Apple products. Can't wait for Samsung to develop their own operating system for phones, tablets and even PCs. Can't wait to buy my silver painted plastic MacBooksung.